The White Doe of Scythia
by Twiddlesticks
Summary: The Scythian has been reincarnated as the mythical White Doe of Scythia. It doesn't mean much, but it's quite an honour. She goes about her duties and sends off some people on their own little errands.
1. Soul

**Enjoyed this game very much. Decided to write a short something or other to help me move on or something.**

Out of the eye of the whirling infinite, She falls. At least, that is the feeling. Like a jolt. Whamo.

Blinking, She peers around. Leaves, grass. A forest. Nothing spectacular or whimsical. She hadn't really expected there to be something after the whirling infinite. Indeed, She has the feeling that there hadn't been. But now there is.

She gets to Her feet, staggering on four, spindly but powerful legs. This isn't a feeling She is accustomed to. Two legs were Her forte. This is just weird. But She finds She can walk, and so She does, and as She does, She comes to notice the absence of the presence of the All-Knowing Finger of the God.

She remembers touching it with Her own digit, just before everything was extinguished. She remember's its promise and its goodbye.

But She is alone now… and alive? Well that doesn't make a lick of sense. There is a pool nearby. She decides to shed some light on this crazy mystery, and heads towards it. Approaching it, She cranes Her long neck over the water's surface and drinks in Her reflection.

Pale silvery fur. Big dark eyes. Swively ears. A doe.

This is severely freaky, and She takes a step back. But besides the freakiness, there is also understanding.

The reflection is of the White Doe of Scythia.

She recognizes it from the old stories. The mythical White Doe of Scythia was the companion to the mythical White Stag of Scythia. While the Stag tended to appear near the end of one's journey, the Doe appeared at the beginning, to send off an individual on their quest.

The Doe was said to exist between the two sides of the world- Able to pass between dreams and reality much like the people of Caucasus, but in a different way.

She feels privileged to have been able to dream with the Caucasians. Their dreams were much different from Hers. Lucid, She believes, was the term he used. She is rather surprised to know that She can remember Her past and Her friends, but thinking on it, She realizes it is not such an amazing feat. The White Doe of Scythia lives for thousands of moon phases, longer than any human or animal. Each time it dies, it accepts a new soul into its body to carry on its duties.

She feels honoured, though confused to have been chosen to inhabit the White Doe. She is dubious as to what She can bring to the title. Unsure of what to do, She chews at some grass. It is more appetizing as a deer than it would have been as a human. She remembers things. Things from Her past. Things from the pasts of others who have inhabited the White Doe of Scythia.

It is very cool.

But She is a practical woman who does not like to waste time, and so soon She stands and pads away into the forest. She has a job to do. A new errand to complete.

There must be a town nearby. She wonders what the future holds for Her. In a nearby clearing, She takes time to note the phase of the moon. A waxing gibbous. It's a nice shape.


	2. Boy

The White Doe of Scythia finds Herself on the edge of the forest, which has become sparse. Beyond is a wide open expanse, and its great vastness brings with it a stinging familiarity.

Here are Scythian lands, or at least, the edges of them. It is indeed, a steppe. She remembers the steppes from Her own childhood. There are huts in the distance, but nothing close by. Nothing except a figure walking in Her direction. She takes a few steps back, and watches the figure draw closer.

It is a boy, a young boy, dressed in the nomadic armour of their people, looking about with wide eyes. His hair is longish and dark, and his nose appears to have been broken, and healed.

She watches his approach for a time. Finally, he catches sight of her. He is close enough to Her that She can see his eyes. They widen.

He asks Her if she is the mythical White Doe of Scythia.

She dips her head a little in response. He approaches, cautiously, a little freaked out by this creature of lore.

She takes a few steps back, then turns and saunters off, in the way deer do.

He calls out, asking if he should follow Her. She does not answer. She can't of course, deer don't speak. She just keeps walking. She has a feeling this is how it's done. Be all mysterious. Lead the new adventurer to something. This boy must have just come of age. He is obviously starting off on his own errand.

He follows Her into the forest.

Since inhabiting the White Doe of Scythia, She has only tried to remember the Song of Sworcery once. It's impossible to recall the words, much less the melody. It seems however that She doesn't need it now. She has an innate sense about strange and mysterious things now that She is the White Doe, and She seems to be able to tell where strange and mysterious things will be.

A strange and mysterious thing is a little ways away now. She leads the boy up a hill, staying far enough away from him that he can only glimpse the ghost of Her little white tail. He is an admirable climber, despite most likely living most of his life on the steppes. He plods along valiantly, hacking at low hanging branches with his sword.

The sound of rushing water has been present for quite some time now. Nearby, a pool of water sits in a clearing hidden in the mountain. The pool is deep, and it feeds a waterfall which makes the rushing sound. It's a wonder that the pool never empties, until one discovers the small slit in the rock wall behind the pool. This slit gushes water all day from some hidden reservoir inside the mountain.

The pair approach it now.

The White Doe stands still for a moment, close to a flat rock with runes carved into the surface. She waits for the boy here, momentarily, having found the location of something strange and wonderful. The boy approaches Her, hand outstretched, but just as he enters the pool's clearing, She bounds away into the surrounding underbrush, and is gone.

He stands there, irresolute for a short time. Then he inspects the flat rock.

Nearby the White Doe of Scythia turns momentarily to watch his progress, then leaves, satisfied, to continue Her own errand.


End file.
